We’re in Japan checking out some of Honda’s facilities, but with the Philadelphia supercross around the corner, our minds are still on the incredible 450SX battle taking place between Hunter Lawrence and Ken Roczen. Fortunately Trey Canard is here so we pulled him aside and asked him a few questions about Lawrence’s mindset, and his incredible performance thus far in 2026.
Racer X: Let’s start by getting some insight into your current role with Honda. I know you help out with production testing and influencing new designs, but you also work with the race team. Can you get into that?
Trey Canard: In the beginning it was just race team stuff, helping the rider with setup and also helping the race team develop different theories or ideas. But I quickly wanted to get involved on the production side because of the U.S. production rule. You can be very limited by what you start with. There’s only so much you can do, and the stock platform has to be good. That was the motivation to get involved, and it’s evolved since. The cooperation between the development side and the race side has evolved a lot, and that’s been really beneficial for the production side. The race side is helping the production side, and vice versa. That’s where I’m at, I kind of sit somewhere in the middle of race testing and production development.
You probably have a unique insight into Hunter Lawrence’s off season. Was there anything different you noticed about him in how he was prepping, or how he was doing?
For me, when he won the final moto at Budds Creek, beatting Jett straight up, that was a good shift for him. I think there was some confidence he built over the summer, and being right there for SMX, he was one mistake away from being the SMX champion, there was a turning point. I had a pretty good hunch this year he was going to be strong.
Did you notice any other kinds of changes in him? Other than just being faster and stronger, were there any mental changes?
To me, he’s had a great progression. It’s easy to forget about his first years in the States with all his injuries. He’s had a great chance to slowly build himself, which is kind of how he works. When he first was riding for the team, like in practice he wouldn’t jump all the rhythm sections and by the end of the night he was in it. He works that way, in a slow evolution, which is a really smart strategy. You limit yourself to risk. What we’re seeing isn’t really like a progression of the last few months, but a progression of the last few years.
Speaking of the mental side of things, from the outside he sure seems like he doesn’t get too caught up in the highs or lows too much. Is that something that just comes naturally to him? He’s not a veteran yet, but he seems like he handles things as well as, and maybe better, than some of the existing veterans.
Jett’s the same way. Their father, Darren [Lawrence], gets credit for a lot of things and I think that’s one of the things. He’s really good about keeping Jett and Hunter process oriented. It’s not only about the athlete I am today, but who can I be in three or four years? I just don’t see much urgency, which can be perceived as a weakness, but in terms of developing it’s really smart.
In your role with the race team, does he ever come to you with certain asks in testing components or dialing in a certain setup? Can you feel this out or find a better way to do that?
I think I match Hunter better than Jett. We have a similar height, he’s a little taller, but we weigh nearly the same and I think we leverage the bike in similar ways. I really match well with him and with what he’s looking for. We develop a little differently than other teams, we trade bikes all the time. Sometimes when we test we won’t have a test bike, we’ll just have one bike and it’s musical chairs. I think the benefit I can add is, I can validate what he’s feeling. Sometimes when you’re a racer it’s difficult to put what you want into words. My experience in knowing what’s going on in the motorcycle, as far as what’s in there, what’s changed, I can help him communicate what he’s asking for, and help the technicians have a better idea of what direction to go.
I’ve heard he’s very sensitive to even tiny changes. Not picky, but can feel everything, even a bolt that’s been torqued to a different tightness.
For guys at his level that’s pretty consistent. Rarely do you have a guy at this point in his career who can’t feel pretty minor changes. I think Hunter, both a positive and a negative for him, he’s hyper focused on what he wants. It’s great because he’ll push you and the team to find that. Sometimes it’s difficult because you can fix ten things, but you didn’t fix the 11th and he’ll still be pushing for that.
Hunter and Ken Roczen are separated by a single point coming into Philadelphia. How well is Hunter equipped to handle this situation coming into the final three races?
I think it’s a great matchup. Obviously I’m cheering for Hunter, from an HRC perspective and the relationship I have with him. I think we’ve got a really exciting championship because both riders are in a good place mentally. Hunter had the mistake this past weekend, but other than that it’s been pretty minor, other than Detroit. He’s been very solid this year. I think he can do it, and his starts tend to lend to putting himself in a great position. It’s going to be a knock-down drag-out fight!
